


i love you(but only on camera)

by purplesweetpotato



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: Angst, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Itzy members, Reality TV, TWICE members - Freeform, lots of idols here, mainly yeorry, more to be added - Freeform, red velvet members - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-09
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:40:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25011790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/purplesweetpotato/pseuds/purplesweetpotato
Summary: Where Yerim is chosen to go on a reality tv show competition about couples and stuff. Except her problem? She doesn’t even have a girlfriend.Lucky for her, someone agrees to help her.Unlucky for her, it’s her ex Yeojin,and to win, they fake-date. :)
Relationships: Choi Yerim | Choerry/Im Yeojin, Ha Sooyoung | Yves/Kim Jiwoo | Chuu, Jeon Heejin/Kim Hyunjin, Jo Haseul/Viian Wong | ViVi, Jung Jinsol | Jinsoul/Kim Jungeun | Kim Lip, Park Chaewon | Go Won/Son Hyejoo | Olivia Hye
Comments: 3
Kudos: 87





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> italics are thoughts and this might be really messy but I hope it’ll clear up soon :)

“Rock! Paper! Scissor! Shoot!” Everyone in the dance company shouts as they shape their hands into one of the options. Most hands make scissors, surprising her. Yerim, unfortunately, made a paper, thinking rock would be popular among her colleagues. Yeji, her choreo partner, had paper out too, which means she still had a chance to win and not be chosen. She doesn’t even know what they were deciding. Her boss, Namjoon, just suddenly called a meeting for specific people, saying their names through the speakers and disturbing her time creating another choreography for a group.

“Rock! Paper! Scissor! Shoot!!” They all shout again. Trying to use what she learned in those “how to win rock, paper, scissor every time” videos. Yerim put out a scissor, praying Yeji chose paper. She did not. Excited shouts were heard as Yerim felt Yeji’s rock hand tap the top of her scissor hand. Her boss cleared his throat for everyone’s attention. 

“As you know, we are one of the sponsors for the new reality show about being the cutest couple or something. Not a lot of information has been released. Although all couple contestants have been chosen, one couple dropped out and the show producers have decided to give us one of the spots. I called all of you because everyone in this room is dating someone, so to decide who goes on the show we played rock, paper, scissor! So the winners and future reality tv stars are Yerim and her girlfriend!” Cheers and applause erupt in the room as Yerim attempts to close her mouth after hearing the news. Still in her shock, her blank mind just plays along and claps. Arriving at her practice room, her once blank mind was now filled. But not with excitement, with fear.  _ I’m not fit for the show! I’m not pretty or confident for the show!  _ And, there’s one major requirement she can’t check off.

_ I don’t even have a girlfriend!  _

_ — _

She sits on the floor in the center of the room and wonders how her boss could ever assume she was dating someone.  _ Don’t I look single enough? _ Then, she thinks back to all her past conversations with her boss.

_ Oh _ . She thinks again, realization finally occurring. The company dinner from a month ago.

-flashback to the company dinner 

“Yerim!” her colleagues and her boss that were hanging around the drinks table walks up to her as she gets herself a drink. 

“Oh hi!” Her positivity radiated over everyone.

“Are you here alone?” Namjoon asks, in a worried, parent-like tone.

“Yeah, I am!” She replies as she takes a sip of the sweet purple drink in a fancy glass. After finishing her glass, she heads to the bathroom to fix her makeup.

“I’m just going to go to the washroom!” She shouts over the booming music. Suspicious that people were following her, she walked all around the room and through crowds until they were back at the drunk station, where she confronted her followers with a punch, effectively knocking some out. _Wow,_ m _aybe going to those self-defence classes did help after all! She looks up from the ground just to see other drunk people trying to get her._

“Are you dating someone?”

“Someone like you shouldn’t be alone and single! I’ll date you!”

“Let’s go back to my place!” Some of them shout and try to grab her hand, as if punching people to show she wasn’t interested wasn’t enough. Disgusted and disturbed by all the confessions she got and wanting to turn them down in the most painful way possible, she pulls the “I’m already dating someone” card.

“Sorry but I’m just alone here. My GIRLFRIEND is busy right now and couldn’t make it.” She angrily says, emphasizing “GIRLFRIEND”. The look of drunk realization on their faces made her laugh inside. _How do you like that, huh! hahahaha!_ Namjoon turns to her, after witnessing everything that happened.

“That’s great news! Bring her to the company one day, I’d love to meet her! As you know, this company doesn’t tolerate this behaviour so these people are dealing with me tomorrow.” Her boss warmly replies as he controls the situation and takes the drunk people outside.(They were fired the next day)

-end of flashback

Now, the look of realization on her own face was probably funny to anyone who passed by. What do I do???? She doesn’t want to disappoint Namjoon, who has done so much for her and is like a brother-figure to her, but she literally doesn’t have a girlfriend. She Also, the prize money can really help the company and everyone is relying on her to win. She calls her trusted friend from high school, Yewon, and asks for advice. After catching up with each other, she finally spills.

“So basically I lied about having a girlfriend and my boss thought I had a girlfriend so after losing Rock Paper Scissor he chose me as the person to fill in the spot in the new show we sponsor!” Yerim spits out all the words in her mind, rushed and panicked. She takes a breath and continues.

“So now I have to go onto a show that starts filming next week and I don’t have a girlfriend!” She finishes, out of breath and a bit light-headed.

“Haha why not just date me? They’ll never know.” Yewon says, almost nervously.  _ That’s weird... _

“No! You’re my friend! I could never date you! Anyways, thanks for listening, I gotta go!” She feels a bit lighter and calmer, ready to find a girlfriend. She finishes making the choreography for a song and decides to get something to eat at a cafe nearby.

_ Maybe a snack would help me in this. _

———————-

“Congrats for making it onto the show!” Yeojin carefully takes a bite of her ramen as she congratulated her friend for making it onto this new reality show about couples. She can’t get her outfit dirty. 

“Thanks, Chaewon and I are happy to compete, you’ll watch it right?” Hyejoo asks, plugging her ears right before Yeojin opens her mouth again.

“OF COURSE!” Yeojin excitedly shouts, leaning on her right to side-hug her, making the convenient store stool creak. “Wait what’s the show even about?”

“Not much information is out but the main concept is that people vote on who’s the cutest couple and that the strongest couple wins. There’s no title yet but filming starts next week.” _Sounds stupid..._

“Hmm interesting...that’s not my kind of thing but I’ll still watch it!”

After happily finishing her ramen and drink and waving her friend off, she decides to get some inspiration for her newest assignment. The fashion company was tasked to make a wedding set. Assuming it was easy, Yeojin took on the job. Big mistake. She has no idea what to do, crumpled sketches scattered around her desk as proof. Dressed in a simple white t-shirt, checkered skirt with a beret and long coat, she decides to head to her favourite fabrics store for inspiration and skips down the street excitedly.

—-

Bright lights blind her eyes, hundreds of coloured fabrics welcoming her to the store. 

“Yeojin!” Her friend, Soojin, calls her. 

“Hi! Can you help me find your fabrics for wedding dresses?” Soojin guides her to the wedding section, weaving around stands of sewing tools and promoted items, until she sees an array of fabrics. Lace, satin, chiffon, she went over to them, a spark of inspiration lighting up each time but fading after. As Soojin guides her to more fabrics, a certain one catches her eye. A newspaper fabric in a hidden corner, white fabric with small black texts and pictures. Yeojin got loads of ideas for that, some newspaper trousers, a newspaper dress shirt, she couldn’t wait for it.

“That just came in yesterday. I’ll take it to the register.” Soojin says and smiles, understanding the glint in her eyes as she looks at the fabric. After casually chatting for a bit, Yeojin buys the fabric and decides to get a coffee from her local cafe to try and sketch an idea for the wedding assignment. With the roll of fabric in a bag under her arm, she heads to the cafe. 

Maybe a coffee will help me in this.

—-

“Order for Yeojin!” Getting up from her table, she walks through the half empty cafe and grabs her coffee. While walking back, her eyes cling onto someone. Dressed in black athletic clothing and a white cap with long brown hair under it.  _ Have I seen them before?  _ She shakes her head, attempting to snap herself out of her trance. 

“These sketches are lacking something.” She mumbles, adding on to the unsatisfying feeling from that familiar stranger. Picking up the empty coffee cup, Yeojin walks over to the trash can. To her luck, that was near where the stranger was standing.  _ Maybe I could get a good look at her face. _ Distracted by her feelings and the cute dog eating at a close table, she misses the bright yellow “SLIPPERY” sign and slips on the substance on the floor.

_ Goodbye to everyone and my face, this is the end.  _ She dramatically thinks to herself as she flies forward, readying herself for the cold, hard and possibly wet ground. 

But it never comes? Instead, arms catch her and pulls her into a big full hug. Her top half being hugged by warm arms and her face pressed against someone’s chest. A familiar scent burns into her mind as she relaxes into the hug. But the stranger doesn’t let go? It’s an awkward position for strangers to be in. In that moment, she hears a male voice speak. The arms around her tightens and she tries hard to look up and see the man’s face. 

“Yerim!”  _ What a familiar name.. _ .”I thought you were still in the company!” The man pauses, probably looking at their position and continues. “Aww! Is this your girlfriend? You’re so cute together!” A few beats pass and the stranger's heartbeat quickens, she can feel it (her ear is pressed above her heart) and before Yeojin can escape from the stranger’s hold and clarify, the stranger speaks up.

“Uhh...yup! This is my girlfriend!” The stranger says, nervously. She can feel the voice tremble. 

“I can’t wait to see you on the show next week together! Anyways, see you later!” The male voice finishes and leaves. The stranger releases Yeojin from her hold and releases a sigh. Her eyes travel up to the taller’s face, taking in the face of someone she hasn’t seen in years, just to notice that they’re looking back at her.

“YOU!” They both speak together. The face she hoped to never see again. Anger, betrayal, hate, sadness rose back into her, feelings she thought she wouldn’t have to feel for another while. The result of an unresolved, messy break up. 

_ Choi Yerim. _

_ —- _

_ Im Yeojin. _

The only person to make the shining sun of Yerim dark. Her ex from high school. She just called Yeojin her girlfriend in front of her boss. 

“Why are you calling me your girlfriend?” Yeojin coldly asks, arms crossed and an annoyed look on her face

“Come with me.” 

“Why? To break a promise again? No thanks.”

“Yeojin, please!” Yerim pleads, trying to build a plan. Somehow, Yeojin agrees. She grabs her things from her table, including a big roll of something and they walk toward her car. Once seated, she starts the car and drives them to her apartment. The car ride is awkward and quiet, Yeojin just spending her time looking at her phone to avoid talking. 

“Stop looking at your phone, you’ll get dizzy.”

“Don’t tell me what to do. I don’t get dizzy anymore, as if you know that.”

“Just making sure you don’t throw up in my car.” The rest of the car ride was silent, only the sound of the road heard. 

Yerim walks to her apartment with Yeojin following. The brunette puts down her bag and coat heading to the kitchen for a drink while the blonde takes a seat on the couch. 

“Would you like anything to drink?” 

“No, I’m ok.”

“So.....” Yerim takes a seat on the other side of the couch.

“So.....”Yeojin randomly glances around the apartment, thinking about what to say. Yerim taps her nails on her glass of water, thinking how to start without starting an argument. Thankfully, Yeojin speaks.

“So, why did you say that I’m your girlfriend to that man?” Yeojin says, turning to look at Yerim. 

“I told my boss I had a girlfriend, when I didn’t.” She guiltily states, looking down at her water. 

“Lying again, huh?” Yerim tries to ignore the true meaning of her words and decides to get straight to the point.

“Look, I’ll get straight to the point. I need you to date me.”

“What?!”

“For a reality show I’m on about couples. It’ll be good publicity and there’s a million dollar prize. When the show ends we’ll fake breakup and I’ll leave you alone. I’ll even pay you, if you’d like.” The taller spills out while avoiding eye contact.

“So you want me to fake date you?” Yerim nods nonchalantly, and Yeojin’s mind flashes red. Another result of avoiding your ex, not fixing the relationship and pent up emotions.

“No. First of all, you haven’t contacted me since high school or ever tried fixing things. Second, you can’t even look me in the eye! How are you supposed to fool the audience that we’re dating? Thanks for catching me today, but sorry. I won’t date you.” Yeojin was annoyed and her mind was clouded with anger, unable to think about the benefits. Seeing Yerim after five years with an unresolved breakup? Not a good combo.  _ She wants to come back to me just to fake date me? No!  _ She storms out of the apartment with her things and her fabric and calls a taxi to get home. 

Yerim, on the other hand, is already brainstorming ideas to get her to agree. She's almost desperate for her.  _ Why did I even catch her today and show her face to my boss? Should have just let her fall _ . Grabbing her notebook, she proceeds to think of a plan to get her.


	2. well, that just made everything harder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> yeojin breaks and the show releases more info for them

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heh i didn’t read over this so there’s probably lots of mistakes but ok enjoy ;)

After a few hours of planning, it was time to put her plan in action. She has a week to get her.

1) Get her info

She should have started with exchanging numbers, but now that she didn’t, she needed ways of getting it. The best and most effective way? Social media stalking. Opening the Instagram app, she goes through her close friend lists and their profiles, until she remembers her close friend Chaewon, talking about her girlfriend’s friend, how short and cute she was.  _That fits Yeojin’s description pretty well... _ Then, she goes to Chaewon’s girlfriend’s profile and scrolls through her minimal personal photos, until she finds with Yeojin in it. Tapping to see the tagged people, she sees her username over her face. Going into her profile, she sees pictures of her fashion designs and the company she works at. _Wait..._ Yerim takes a step back and realizes she could have just asked Chaewon to ask her girlfriend for Yeojin’s number. After multiple texts answering lot of questions to why she wanted it, she finishes her stalking. Maybe not the best stalker, but that should be a good thing?

2) Annoy her with her weakness

Flowers. She bought a small pot of flowers with a small card stuck inside that said 

“date me. -CY” 

Kind of creepy, but she knew this way would work. She cradled the flowers on her way to the front desk of the fashion company she saw on her Instagram page. With a mask on to hide her identity, she pushes the revolving door.

“Hi! Is there an Im Yeojin here? I’d like to drop these off for her!” The receptionist nods, smiling before taking the flowers and walking into the one of the rooms. Before the receptionist can come back, she runs out of the building and goes to a local supermarket to buy a box of chocolate and more to give tomorrow and for the next few days. Knowing Yeojin, she would hate for someone to spend money on her, going great lengths to stop it. This leads to her final step of the plan.

3) Make Yeojin come to her

Successfully planting the next few gifts with the same message, she now drops off the last one with her number and address included, and waits for a call on her couch. She knows this one is the one to break her. Surprisingly, she didn’t need to wait long because Yeojin was already calling her.

“So! Did you get my gifts and notes?”

“ _Stop sending me things_!” She could hear the echo of a stairwell and the annoyance present in her voice. The plan was working just fine.

“Um no! Until you agree and help me. Anyways, come to my address on the note card if you say yes. If you don’t, I have more tricks up my sleeve to use. See you tonight!” Yerim smirks inside. Luring her enemy to her and get her to agree? Genius.

—-

Yeojin couldn’t believe her eyes. A total of 5 gifts in a row. At first, she thought nothing of it. A small pot of flowers with a small card sticking out of it. She wondered who would send her flowers. It was nice until she opened the card, to see a message that gave away the identity of the person. The next day, another gift came. The receptionist and friend of her squealed as she handed the box of chocolates and card to her.

“So who’s the person trying to win you over?!” Yeri excitedly asks.

“It’s no one.” She blandly replies.

“Aww, you’re no fun! Invite me to your wedding if you know what I mean!” Yeri winks at her and goes back to the front. By the fifth day and gift, word got around that the baby of the company, Yeojin, was getting sent gifts. ( This is probably all Yeri’s doing)  Now, she has to handle the intense teasing and questioning from her co-workers. Opening the card, she sees the same message, but now with a number and address. Irritated by her, she sneaks out and hides in a stairwell and calls the number.

“ _So! Did you get my gifts and notes?” That maddening voice again._

“Stop sending me things!” 

“ _Um no! Until you agree and help me._

_Anyways, come to my address on the note card if you say yes. If you don’t, I have more tricks up my sleeve to use. See you tonight!” _ Tired of her little plan, she decides to weigh out the benefits of actually agreeing and not. If she doesn’t agree, Yerim would bother her even more. Knowing how stubborn she is, she is sure the brunette has more plans to mess with her. And, she can watch the show from her home to get inspiration for her wedding assignment. On the pros side, being on tv can really help her career and being physically around couples could help inspire her wedding set assignment more than watching from the comfort of her home. She’s also always loved being in front of the camera.

A few hours of sketching, sewing and assembling pass and her shift ends. It was time to make a choice. 

—

“Yeojin! I’ve been expecting you!” Yerim smiles and moves out of the way as her plan comes to a close.  What a flawless plan.  The blonde girl crosses her arms and takes her moving away as permission to enter her clean modern apartment and sits on the couch, like last time. 

“I’ll take you being here as your ‘yes’ to fake-dating me. Tomorrow, there is a photo shoot and meeting for all contestants and crew. Give me your address, I’ll pick you up.” Yeojin finds the sticky note pad from her hand and scribbles down her apartment address. They fight for a little more, until Yeojin decides to leave.

“Oh yeah, and don’t fall in love with me.” Yeojin moves to put her shoes on and leave, scoffing at her words.

“As if I haven’t learned from the first time.”

—-

Yerim checks over her outfit in the elevator and pressed the button to Yeojin’s apartment floor. For today, she wore light blue jeans, a loose purple blouse with a few buttons undone and her favourite pair of white converse.  Perfect , she thought. She holds the sticky note in her hand as she checks every room number until it matches the one on paper. She rings the doorbell and hears light shuffling until the door swings open. 

“Oh, it’s you.” Yeojin says with a bored tone while grabbing her shoes and purse. 

“Were you expecting someone?”

“No, but anyone is better than you.” 

“Trust me, we wouldn’t be here if you had just looked at the yellow caution sign on the floor and walked around it!” Their voices were getting increasingly louder, 

“So it’s my fault? Always pinning the blame on me, right?”

“Am I wrong?!” They stare at each other, like they were arguing in through their eyes. A phone alarm breaks their contact. Yerim clears her throat.

“We have to go now.” They walked side by side onto the elevator and stood in silence. Using the mirror-like walls, she discreetly checks out Yeojin. A white sweater with coloured stripes at the end of the sleeve, cuffed jeans, black shoes and a small smiley face patch above her heart. Her hair was down, allowing the blonde locks to flow. _Still pretty..._ She thinks they complimented each other, which is the idea they want to give off to the audience.

—-

Walking into the photo shoot set, they greet all the crew there and prepare to talk to the other contestants. They’re meeting the others first and going to get more information about the show before getting photos taken.They follow the arrow signs given by the staff and go into the large dressing room, to see everyone and a few staff sitting in a big circle.

“Welcome! Are you the final couple?” A cheery voice says as they take a seat with on the empty chairs near the speaker.

“Yes!” Yerim returns the cheery tone to the girl.

“Ok then let’s start! I’m Wendy, the host of this show, so let’s get to know each other! Please introduce us to your first name, age, occupation and.......” Wendy stops to think for more questions.  _Ok, those questions don’t seem too bad._ Yerim thought as she prepared her answers. “and...how long you’ve been dating your significant other! Let’s start off with this side!” Wendy says as she signals the left side to start.

“Ok, hi! My name is Heejin, I’m 23 and I’m a cartoonist! I’ve been dating Hyunjin for 3 years but we were best friends before.” Heejin speaks with a deep voice that doesn’t match her appearance.

“Hi. I’m Hyunjin. I’m a baker. I’m 23. And Heejin already said how long we’ve been dating.” Her expression was blank but she let out a small smile near the end.

“Hi everyone, I’m Jinsoul! I’m 25 and a veterinarian. I’ve been with my girlfriend for 5 years!” The black haired girl pinches the brown haired girl’s cheeks.

“Hey, I’m Jungeun. I’m 24 and I work in marketing. I’ve been with this one for 5 years.” She quickly pinches back Jinsoul but she catches her hand and holds it tightly.

“Hello! I’m Sooyoung!” A girl with shoulder-length hair that radiates elegance speaks up. “I’m 25 and a winemaker! I own an apple orchard and a vineyard! I’ve been dating Jiwoo for 3 years!”

“HI!” A loud, happy voice breaks through the room as a girl with bangs smiles widely. “I’m Jiwoo! I’m a psychologist and we’ve been dating for 3 years! Oh, and I’m 24!” 

“Hi guys! I’m Haseul! I’m a music producer and I’m 25! I’ve been with Vivi since I was 19, so we’ve been together for 5 years!” A gentle, friendly voice that contrasted the energetic levels of Jiwoo was heard. A similar voice follows Haseul’s voice. 

“Hello, I’m Vivi. I’m a translator and I’m 26! We’ve been together for 5 years!” Expecting the next voice to follow the trend, Yerim looks at the girl who is going next. A girl oddly familiar, a blonde girl in a pineapple shirt. A crunchy voice rings out of the girl, defying the soft, gentle voices before her.

“Hi! I’m Chaewon! I’m a chef, I’m 23 and I’ve been dating Hyejoo for 2 years!”  _CHAEWON??!!!! Wait her girlfriend? Yeojin’s friend?_ Yerim’s eyes widened as they made eye contact.

“Hi. I’m Hyejoo. I work with computers and I’m 22. We’ve been dating for 2 years.” A monotone voice is heard. Yerim looks over to Yeojin, a similar expression on her face.  _HYEJOO??????!!!!! This is the show she made it on?_ She sees the other couple also look at them with big eyes and open mouths. Shocked and slightly confused, she feels a tap on her waist. She realizes that she’s next.

“I- oh! I’m Yeojin! I’m 21 and a fashion designer and I’ve been dating Yerim for...” she pauses and pretend she’s counting the years when in reality, she’s trying to make up a reasonable lie. Noticing everyone was looking at her, she blurts out a number. “Uh.. for 1 and a half years!” She secretly pats her self on the back.  _Nice save, me!_

“Hi! I’m Yerim and I’ve a choreographer! I’m 22 and like Yeojin said, we’ve been dating for a year!” Yeojin cuts in.

“And a half!” The rest of the cast smile and laugh at how cute they are, while the Yeojin fights the urge to get up and shake Yerim. 

“I’m sure you’re all curious about the show, so the producers sent a copy of the final concept to us!” Yeojin wonders what she had just gotten herself into as she plays with her sleeve nervously.

“A reality competition show where couples participate through challenges that test their love. The winners of the challenge gets a private date together and the winner of the audience vote is safe from elimination. At the end of the week, everyone will vote for the couple to be eliminated.” All their faces dropped when they found out how careful the have to be, but they signed up for this themselves. “One more thing! You can NOT break up at any point, if you found suspicious by the break-up police and have no valid reasoning, you will be automatically eliminated. Got it?” Wendy speaks sternly as she transitions back to her happy, smiley self while everyone nodded. _Break-up police!!?????_ _ Elimination???!!!!!  This rule just made everything harder to win.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> these jobs? yves owning an apple orchard? gowon the chef? yeojin the fashion designer? choerry the choreographer? heejin the cartoonist? chuu the psychologist? etc.? 
> 
> is it just me or does this show concept kinda feel similar to a real show? no? just me?  
> comments are appreciated :) (but only if you  
> want)


	3. it was great until we saw that

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> yeojin and yerim struggle to take loving photos together and they get a house tour

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i just love yeorry ykwim? <3

Wendy leaves and the photographer comes in and tells them to prepare themselves. The order for filming is by the age order starting with Vivi and Haseul. While waiting for their turn, some girls get out of the circle and to somewhere else. Chaewon and Hyejoo walk over to Yerim and Yeojin, pulling them to opposite directions to talk separately.

“Yerim?! I didn’t know you were coming here!” She lowers the volume of her voice. “-or that you had a girlfriend.” Yerim nervously laughs. 

“Hah! I may have forgotten to mention that but we just wanted to keep our relationship private. You know, gossip spreads. You know what I mean?” Chaewon nods and smiles, understanding her reasoning. 

“Yeojin! You never told me you were coming on this show! When did you apply?” The black haired girl lightly punches Yeojin and whines. 

“I’m here to spy on you and prove you’re a soft girl, why else?” 

“Anyways, who is this?” Hyejoo’s eyes shine in a teasing manner.Yeojin prepares herself to say the words she used to always want to say. Through clenched teeth, she allows the words to flow out.

“This is my girlfriend, Yerim!” 

—-

Couple by couple, they take their photos and cheesy looped video that will play after an advertisement when it airs. Soon enough, it was their friends’ turn to go. Yerim begins to feel nervous. Based on what they heard when talking to the other contestants about the shoot, the photographer will ask them to act loving and cute, simple things any couple would find easy. Except, they aren’t even a couple! 

Time flies by as Yerim imagines what they have to do, until the photographer calls them. They stand up from the chairs and follow the photographer through the halls. Yerim softly grabs the blonde’s wrist, making Yeojin turn her eyes away from the hall ahead. 

“What are we going to do?” She quietly whispers and cups her hand around the jewelry-filled ear.

“Isn’t it just simple things like smiling and looking at each other while holding hands? It should be fine.”

It’s not. Looking like two stiff sticks next to each other, Yerim awkwardly put her arm around the other’s waist and got an arm around her shoulder as an exchange. The photographer, who’s name they found as Joy, tries to encourage them to get closer. And they did, but only millimetres closer. Joy finally asks why they were so awkward. Not wanting to set the “breakup police” off, they just say they’re shy, a valid reason. But to them, this was a warning. Joy picks up her camera again and looks in to see them closer like she asked. Now open to try new poses, Joy shouts out different poses for them to do. 

“A ‘pretend to laugh’ back hug!” Joy yells and Yerim pulls Yeojin closer and wraps her arms around her waist. She presses herself as she feels Yeojin hold onto her hands. They smile and like Joy suggests, pretend to laugh. Wide smiles break out as weird forced laughing sounds came out. _ahhhh_ _I don’t want to get closer to her!_

“Ok! Now a ‘I’m happily resting my head on your chest’ hug!” Yeojin turns in her hold and rests her head on Yerim’s chest, hugging her back. Instead of loud camera clicks, she could hear the brunette’s heartbeat, thumping quickly, like her own. After a few more and the individual shoots, they end the picture time and start the looping video. 

“So, it’s just 3 seconds where you do anything! Kiss, hug, pinch each other’s cheeks, anything like that to show your love!” Joy explains and gets the camera to the recording mode. Yerim, assuming they were just going to side hug, prepares by sliding one arm around her waist. Yeojin, feeling bolder and wants to fluster Yerim, decides to sell the act with one move no one would expect. A kiss! More specifically, a cheek kiss...

“3, 2, 1 action!” Yerim pulls Yeojin closer and Yeojin uses one to gently pull Yerim’s face closer and leaves a soft kiss on her cheek. The camera catches Yerim’s face changing into a shocked smile while closing her eyes as Yeojin softly smiles and waves around her hand as a peace sign for good measure.  _YEOJIN KISSED ME? DISGUSTING!_ She tries to stop her face from turning bright red by persuading herself that it was disgusting. When in reality, her heart fluttered a bit.

“And that’s all!” Joy and the rest of the crew clap as the other couples come out of the room. Wendy and another director, Sana, come out and tell them more before they officially start filming. 

“So! This is really short notice but pack your bags tonight! You guys move into your new home tomorrow! There are cameras around the house but none in your rooms. And good job today! I’ll see everyone here tomorrow to take you to your house!” Everyone bows and says their goodbyes. Yeojin follows Yerim to the purple car and gets inside. 

“You should have told me you were going to kiss me!”

“Then it wouldn’t look real. Besides, I decided to do that right after we started. There was simply no time to tell!” Yeojin calmly shrugs and stares at the road ahead of her until something distracts her. Yerim.  _How does she still have perfect features? I wanna squish her cheeks and kiss her li- no, I hate Yerim and she hates me. I can’t think like this._ The driver catches the passenger’s staring and points it out. 

“You’re staring. Wow, am I that prett-“

“Don’t flatter yourself. I’m just looking at that lipstick mark on your cheek and how you walked around with it and showcased it to everyone.”

“DISGUSTING!” Yerim yells and tries to grab her hand sanitizer, swerving the car a bit. She gets a tissue and sanitizer and rubs it on her cheek. Yeojin turns her eyes back to the road.

—-

“Remember to pack your bag.”

“Yeah yeah, I remember. See you tomorrow.” Yeojin enters her apartment and collapses on the couch. She has stuff to do. Logging into her laptop, she first emails her boss about taking time off for the show. Then, she decides to sketch a design of the wedding dresses she was assigned to do. Losing inspiration with each sketch, she is soon surrounded by crumpled paper on her living room floor. Her mind drifts off to when they were shooting the pictures. How familiar it felt to be in her arms, to kiss her cheek or to see her smile, even if she was just faking it. Stopping the smile about to spread on her face, she remembers what she told herself at the beginning.  _ I hate her and she hates me. We can’t be together like that. Remember what she did to you. _

—-

Yerim drags her luggage and extra bags down to the elevator. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to bring Cherry, her big purple bat plush, but she can’t sleep without it.  Can my car even fit this?  Driving to Yeojin’s place, she wonders how much she’s bringing. She thinks back at the filming schedule emailed to them last night. Installed cameras and speakers always recording. Monday and Tuesday as free days for work or anything. Wednesday for filming the challenge. Thursday as a mandatory “go on a date day” to “keep the love going”. Friday as the result day. Saturday as the winner’s private date day. Sunday as voting and elimination day. It was a packed schedule, but at least she had 2 days off. Knocking on Yeojin’s door, she was surprised to see a luggage the same sizes as hers as well as another half the size. Both wearing comfortable loungewear of hoodies and sweatpants, Yerim helps Yeojin take her luggage down to her car.Silence. Not a word from both of them as they went down the elevator and lobby. It’s Yerim who decides to speak first.

“So what’s in the small luggage?” 

“Just some extra materials for work.” Short and curt, like all the other conversations they had that wasn’t about fighting.

They arrive at the filming studio from yesterday and transfer their luggages to the big coach bus that will take them to their house. Taking their seats, Yerim plugs her earphones in and sees Yeojin doing the same. They sit in silence.

—-

Sometime along the way, Yeojin falls asleep from the early morning departure. She wakes up warm and laying on someone’s shoulder with a sweater as a blanket around her.  I’m wearing my sweater so who’s is this?  She remembers where she is and lifts her head to see Yerim playing on her phone.  _ WAIT DID I JUST FALL ASLEEP ON HER SHOULDER WITH HER SWEATER?!!!!  _

“You’re awake. Wendy said there’s an hour left.”

“A-oh thanks. And sorry about this.”Yerim nods and turns back to her phone. Taking the gray hoodie that was laying on her, she folds it back up and gently places it on her lap. Bored and full of energy, she gets her sketch book and draws a new design out. A simple blazer but shorter than usual, like it was cropped. A white dress shirt and fishnet sleeves under also cut the same length paired with a plain black skirt with thin chains across it. Black boots that went just under the knee finished. Liking the dark theme, she now draws a dress. A red asymmetrical dress where one side covers the whole leg while the other only goes up to the thigh. A red corset-like belt in the middle and long sleeves with designs on the chest to collar. The last sketch she does is a mix of the first two. Red long sleeve crop top with big buttons going down the center. A thin chain runs across diagonally on the top and a matching red thigh-length with a chunk of it cut out to see the black shorts under. A black belt and boots pulls the whole outfit together.

By the time she finishes, Wendy picks up the mic and asks them to look outside. What they saw was beyond their expectations. A big ivory coloured beachside mansion and a beach directly outside. A giant pool with chairs and umbrellas set up was also there. When the bus parks, everyone excitedly gets off the bus and to their bags. Yeojin packs her sketching things away in her bag and holds Yerim’s sweater in her hand as she exits the bus, planning to give it back when they’re off the bus and in their room. She grabs both of her luggages and stacks them on top of each other and drags it into the the mansion where Wendy is waiting. Jiwoo excitedly screams start the house tour.

“Ok! Welcome to the house you will be living in for the next few weeks! Cameras are already installed so everything is already filming! There are no cameras in your rooms for privacy reasons.”She points at a camera while they walk down the hall towards the kitchen. 

“This is the kitchen, right next to it is the living room and the dining room! The most footage is probably taken from this common area here. Now to your rooms!” Wendy guides them to a long hall of big rooms. Their names are already on the door for who the room went to. Except, 3 more doors had names they didn’t know. Suspecting their curiosity, Wendy tells them.

“There are actually 3 more couples that are coming later. They just couldn’t make it to the first shoot but they are taking their pictures today and coming tomorrow! Breakup police’s rooms are also near to be careful... Now, go see your room!” Yeojin gets the keycard taped on the door and puts it in. Screams and shocked sounds were heard from the other couple when they opened the door. Yerim quickly turns the door handle and swings it open. Inside is a big suite, with large windows for the beautiful view of the ocean and the modern white tiled floor. It had a table, a big couch and a huge bathroom. It looked amazing and they couldn’t wait to live here. Yerim and Yeojin couldn’t stop their mouths from opening because of how pretty everything was. The only problem they had with it?   


_There’s only 1 bed???!!!!!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just a small update because...  
> anyone recognize the outfits? ya  
> a chapter about their high school life will come out one day that could answer all your questions on their past relationships ;)  
> also thanks for all the kudos? they’re really encouraging to write more  
> leave a comment if you want <[:)


	5. Episode 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the first episode of their show starts filming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi! tbh im not sure how this is fic going to work but I’ll try my best ! 
> 
> also idk how I feel about the first few chapters, so i may re-write them in the near future. it won’t affect anything but the backstory. still debating if I should

After hours of unpacking their things and exploring more of the house and camera positions, they are allowed to take a nap,

“I’ll just take the couch.” She grabs herself a blanket and pillow on the shelf and walks to the couch. 

“Wait, no. I’ll take the couch.” Yeojin crosses her path and stands in front of her, taking the pillow and blanket from her hand. They go back and forth a few times until Yerim breaks the loop.

“No, I’ll do it. Let’s not argue about this, I’m tired.” Yerim relaxes her grip on the pillow and blanket, letting it fall on the floor.

“Fine, but I’ll take it tomorrow.”She nods and goes off to the couch. They may hate each other, but they still care for the other.

Yeojin wakes up and rubs her eyes to allow herself to adjust to the light. She checks the bedside table digital clock and sees she has a bit over an hour before they need to get back to the main living room to meet the new couples and eat. Sitting up, she twists her body to the left, to see Yerim still sleeping on their couch, blanket falling off. Yeojin gets out of bed, stretches a bit and moves to where Yerim is sleeping. She debates whether to wake her up or let her sleep.  Well she probably had to wake up early to drive me and knowing her, she probably packed last minute . She gently tugs the blanket back on to Yerim’s body and let’s her sleep more while she quietly shuffles to the table, where she adds finishing touches to her sketches and looks through her phone.

_20 minutes left_. She quickly checks on Yerim and sees her still sleeping. Walking back to the couch, she brushes away the strands of hair that fell on her face and lightly shakes her shoulder to wake up. Except she doesn’t.  _ Since when was she such a deep sleeper? _

“Mmm five more minutes!” Yerim mumbles softly as she stirs and turns to face the opposite direction. Getting impatient and seeing that she has spent 5 minutes shaking her, she finally shouts in her ear. 

“WAKE UP!” Yerim stirs and opens her eyes, looking around confused. 

“Where am I?”

“In the house?” Yeojin stares back confused, until Yerim finally remembers.

“Oh right. How much times is left?” She sleepily rubs her face and stands up to go splash cold water on her face.

“13 minutes.” 

“What!? Should have woken me up earlier!” She scrambles to fix her makeup as she only has 13 minutes.

“I did but you didn’t wake up!” Not in the mood to fight or argue back, she packs up her things and double-checks herself if she has everything.

—-

Everyone meets in the living room. Three new couples sit there, similar to the rest. Yeojin and Yerim politely bow and greet them, trying to give a good impression. The living room is big, with 4 curved white couches put together to form a semi circle. Currently, there are big cameras set up on the side, filming them. They sit on the emptiest couch, next to Jinsoul and Jungeun, who were smiling at them and made room. Yerim, noticing that all the couples were comfortably touching each other, wraps her arm around Yeojin’s shoulder and slowly leans back into the cushion. Wordlessly, Yeojin accepts it and holds onto her hand. The TV in the middle suddenly turns on, and Wendy shows up on the screen over a green-screen set. 

“Welcome to the first episode! This is the first day of filming with real people operating the cameras, since the installed cameras have been filming since you arrived!” As if on cue, the small crew of 7 wave at them. Sana, one of the directors operating a big camera, mouths a small “fighting!” at them, easing the mood. 

“Now to meet the new couples!”

“Hi, I’m Jennie and this is Lisa! We’ve been dating for 5 years!” A girl with the front of her hair bleached and another girl with bangs waves and smiles at them and makes eye contact to every single person. Except their smiles were suspicious, like they were plotting something. Yeojin gets chills when Lisa stares into her eyes. 

“Hi! I’m Nayeon and this is Jeongyeon. We’ve been dating for 5 years!” A girl that resembles a bunny points to the person sitting next to her, another girl wearing a blazer and sitting coolly on the couch with an arm around the bunny girl. She sends a short wave towards everyone. Nayeon’s eyes travels to Jennie, where they share a smirk and turns back to the others. Yeojin knows that they’re plotting something.

“And finally, it’s us! Hi! I’m Shuhua and this is my Soojin!!!!!” A girl with long black hair hugs and tries to kiss the girl in her hold, only to be held back by her hand while everyone giggles at their dynamic.  _The classic tsundere and extra loving couple. They’re going to be a tough competition._ Yeojin thinks and finishes her “analysis” of all the new ones. After the laughs die down, Wendy begins to talk again. Today is your first challenge! The winners of the challenge will get an expensive one-on-one date for more camera time and also get to pick the next challenge theme!” Wendy takes her cue cards and cups her mouth like she’s whispering to them. Everyone unconsciously leans in and listens. 

“This power means you can pick a theme that benefits you, so make sure to win! Now for the theme, drumroll please!” When Wendy finishes, all the girls drum on any surface they can find and a blank box covers the screen. 

“Is.....food!” The word “food” in big capitalized letters appears in the box. 

“A competitive eating challenge, where you and your partner will eat as much as you can. The winners will be the couple that eats the most!” 

“Wait what are we going to eat?” Haseul asks.

“That’s a surprise! Now, in 1 hour we will start, so meet up back here at that time. See you then!” Everyone says bye to the TV and go back to their rooms. One of the directors pulls Heejin and Hyunjin aside, interviewing them for their thoughts and feelings. After staring for a bit, she realizes she’s alone, since Yerim ran back to go to the bathroom. Walking down the hall to her room, she sees a few white closets with louvered doors, like near the kitchen. There are mini halls that lead to a glass door with no cameras there. She looks up and tries to spot all the places without cameras. While facing the ceiling to see, someone roughly pushes her into another small hallway.  _This weird house has way too many hallways._ After recovering from her push, she opens her eyes to see her shoes, and another pair facing her. Realizing that she’s being pinned to the wall right now, her eyes snap up to the person who’s pinning her. 

“Well, who do we have here?” The signature bunny teeth. Nayeon.

“T-the cameras...” Yeojin stutters out, slightly flustered by the position and how close she is.

“This is a blind spot, see? No cameras in sight.” She waves her hand around to the top of the walls and Yeojin sees nothing, no cameras. 

“Anyways, I’ll get straight to the point. Back off.”  _Back off? From what?_ Confused and trying to answer herself, she asks her.

“From what?”

“Ugh. The competition, obviously. Jeong and I are going to win at all costs, so if you don’t want you and your little girlfriend to get hurt, drop out or purposely lose.” Nayeon’s fake smile turns into a real smirk as her voice goes lower and darker. Feeling brave, she retaliates.

“Is this your intimidation tactic? You’ll need to try harder.” Yeojin lifts her hands and gently directs Nayeon’s hand away from her. She begins to walk away.

“Don’t test me, Yeojin. Just you wait.” Nayeon walks back into the camera’s view andpretends to smile and skip, as if nothing happened. She wonders how far Nayeon will go to win. 

The room is quiet when she gets inside.  Yerim’s probably with Chaewon or something.  Sticking her hand into her hoodie pocket, she tosses her phone down on the table and face-plants the couch, still thinking about Nayeon’s threat. She decides to not tell Yerim, brushing this off as a whole prank, and to not discourage Yerim, who seemed hopeful for this. Which reminds her, where is Yerim? First, she checks the bathroom, which was empty. Next, she checks the bedroom and closet, which was also empty.  _Where could she be?_ Plopping onto the couch to think of other places she could be, she looks up and sees the balcony, where a familiar figure is sitting on the chairs. She opens the balcony door and sits to the other chair next to Yerim. Wanting to break the silence without fighting, she asks the safest question.

“How much time is left?” 

“20 minutes.” Yeojin nods and doesn’t talk anymore, enjoying the sun and view in silence. Her view of the beach and ocean is beautiful. Their room was directly facing the beach and ocean, able to see the clear, light blue water. Closer in, to her right, she could see the giant pool she saw earlier. Trees were also near her, supplying her a relaxing cool breeze that contrasts the warm sun. She closed her eyes and spaces out, going back to her world of imagination, filled with possible designs to make. 

“....ojin!” She hears noise that sounds almost like her name.

“YEOJIN!” A shout breaks her concentration and causes her to open her eyes.

“I’ve been calling you for 5 minutes! We have to go back in 5 minutes.” Yeojin thinks about the situation and laughs a bit.

“Hah, isn’t it funny that we were in the same situation earlier, but now the roles were swapped?” Yerim annoyingly frowns, arms crossed and stares at Yeojin until she stops laughing.

“Ok, ok!” Yeojin puts her hands up and surrenders, walking back in. But, behind her back, Yerim cracks a small smile.

—-

“What do you think we’re going to do?” Chaewon leans over and asks Yerim as they find their seats back on the couch. 

“They said eat....so eat? I just hope it isn’t aren’t ramen or anything. That’s my favourite.”

“I’ve heard that competitive eating can ruin foods for you, the food will never be the same after you’ve eaten that much.” Gowon says, hoping her favourite food isn’t being served. Just then, Wendy shows up on the tv screen again and the noise in the room drops. Yerim turns her head to see the filming crew all ready to leave, with their big cameras on their shoulder and a blinking red light meaning it’s recording. 

“Ladies! Please follow the arrows to the challenge spot!”  _Since when were there arrows?_ The sun is still strong at this time despite it being near the hours of the evening.A cool breeze, similar to the one on the balcony, welcomes her outside when she pushes the door open. She looks around to find Yeojin, who was just sitting beside her a moment ago. She finds her walking next to Nayeon, who’s mumbling words only Yeojin could hear. Before walking back to her group of Jeongyeon, Jennie, and Lisa, she says something that Yerim can hear from her spot as she approaches them.

“Remember what I said.” Nayeon smiles at Yerim and casually walks away.

“What was that about?”

“Oh, nothing.”  There she is being secretive again.  Putting her thoughts behind her, she sees the blinking red light from corner of her eye and grabs Yeojin’s hand and intertwines their fingers. Yeojin just looks at her and holds it tight. Yerim looks forward, trying to brush off Yeojin’s light pink face that was probably from the sun. 

—- 

Wendy starts talking to the camera and introduces the challenge.

“Welcome back! Earlier we saw how the couples get settled into their new living spaces, so now it’s time to start the challenge!First, welcome to the backyard of the house! This is a open area where you can come on your free time to swim, relax or barbecue!” The big backyard that she visited during her individual house tour, had been transformed into a competitive eating set. There’s a raised platform with several clothed tables and chairs lined up so everyone had space. Plates, water bottles and stacks of napkins were on every table seat space. An electronic number counter is attached for every spot. The filming crew has also set up their cameras at different angles to get the best shots and set up the microphones above. They hand out microphones for everyone to attach onto the collars of their shirts. 

“This challenge is easy! Just eat as much as you can in 10 minutes! The amount you and your partner eat will be added up and the team with the most wins!And remember, the winners get a private date and pick the next challenge!”

Everyone nods as Wendy goes through through her cue cards. 

“But first, lets get some of the contestant’s thoughts! Let’s start with the youngest, Yeojin! How are you feeling about this challenge?” Caught off guard, she barely comprehends the question and tries to think of an answer. Realizing that all cameras are facing her, she feels her hand still intertwined with Yerim, with her thumb rubbing comfortingly. 

“I’m excited! I really like food and am also very hungry! I hope we win!” She releases her shy smile to the camera as the other contestants scream and yell out “cute!” Unfortunately, she also catches Nayeon’s smirk as if she knew she was going to win. 

“Eeeeeeeheheh! As expected of Yeojin and her cute charms! Now to show you the food you will be eating.....” Boxes of the food are wheeled out with a cloth protecting them from seeing. Wendy goes over and pulls down the cloth, uncovering boxes of.......

“Ramen! Kindly supplied by our sponsors, Butterfly Ramen! Here, we have a variety of ramens flavours and spice levels, so you might get unlucky and get one. And, they’re all covered so you won’t know until you open it!”

—- 

Ramen. Her favourite food. She’s sure eating tons of it will ruin the food forever for her, but she has to win. This challenge would have been easier if all the ramen was one single type, not different kinds of flavours and spice levels. She prays she doesn’t get the fire ones. 

“Couples, take a seat on the table and get comfortable, you will be eating a lot!” Wendy emphasizes the “lot”and runs over to the boxes to hand them out. A camera comes over to where the table is and pans over everyone. Near the end of the table, she sees everyone doing their peace signs and fingers, so she does that too. Now for the ramen. The crew handing the ramen out starts everyone with 2 cups, one on their plate and the other on standby. 

“Ok, ready, set, go!” Sounds of plastic ripping off of the big paper ramen cup go off together. Yerim takes a sip of water as everyone else scrambles to pick up their chopsticks and start eating. She picks up her chopsticks and quickly tries to shove all the ramen into her mouth. It was already cooked to perfection and stir-fried with the all of the sauce, just out back into the original cup.  _If only I could savour this._

“Woah look at the go! This is everyone’s first cup!” Wendy provides commentary as she watches them eat. Yerim takes 5 big bites to finish one cup, vigorously twisting her wrist to twirl the noodles onto her chopsticks. 

—-

“8 minutes left, and the numbers are already different!” Yeojin’s mouth burns as she eats a medium spice black-bean sauce ramen. They’re good, really good and she wants to enjoy it but she has no time to savour food. She pushes her hair back to get it out of her mouth. She’s on her 3rd bowl, but luckily doesn’t feel full yet. Looking over to her right where everyone else is, she sees everyone taking giant bites fast, with the people supplying the ramen running back and forth to keep the holding spot filled. Motivated, she takes a big sip of water and picks up the next cup in the holding spot and tries to eat like her elders. 

“5 minutes left! By looking at the counters, we have a massive lead from one person! Hey, anyone get the single fire noodle ramen yet?” Everyone shakes their head, focused on eating. Yeojin thanks herself for not eating a lot today. Although, the texture of ramen was getting old too quick and she’s half way done her supply of water. 

—-

“3 minutes left ladies! Keep pushing and eating!” Full and feeling like she’s going to burst,Yeojin powers through her 9th cup.by this point, she hates ramen. The variety of the noodles tastes were great, but now, they all taste the same. Luckily, the sun begins to set and there’s more cool breeze, helping with the temperature of these noodles. She picks up her 10th cup and rips the top, not noticing the small hole in it, just to find the one cup of ramen she feared.She yells in shock. 

“Ahhhh noooooooooo!” Her whining catches the attention of the others as they cheer and encourage her.

Fire noodles. The short girl sticks her chopsticks into the noodles and starts twisting and takes the first bite. Struggling, she shoves the extra-spicy noodles down.

“Looks like someone got the fire noodles! All your score are very impressive! Especially one person’s, who is leading the race by a huge margin. Anyways, look at Jiwoo and Hyejoo go!” A camera runs up to them to get a glimpse of them eating. Jiwoo looks up, only for her head to be turned towards her favourite person, Sooyoung.

“You’re on tv, we can’t let you look like that!” She quickly wipes the red colour around Jiwoo’s mouth away with a tissue sweetly and goes back to finishing her ramen bowl. While that happens, the person on her left, Hyunjin, slows down her eating pace, feeling really full. Noticing her pace, Heejin slaps her shoulder.

“We’re almost there!” Hyunjin nods and picks up the pace. Everyone’s rushing to eat as much, all feeling really full.

—

“1 minute left!” Everyone looks at each other, wide eyed and hurries. Everyone except Yeojin, who has hit a wall on her competition. She’s burning, not physically but she’s on fire. Yeojin has been working on the fire noodles for 2 minutes, only half way done and feeling like she was going to throw up. Yerim, on the other hand, was in extreme concentration mode. Gobbling up cups in less than 10 bites, she’s killing it. A scream disrupts her and everyone else’s focus, causing her to feel the moderately spicy ramen sauce at the back of her throat and making her gag. Yeojin pats and rubs her back as she looks over to see the screamer. Jennie smirks and shouts.

“Sorry guys, thought I saw a bug in my ramen!” Everyone else thinks little of it, except Yeojin who’s convinced it was a distraction. She sees her and Nayeon sharing a sneaky look together, but she doubts herself since she’s in so much pain. Her lips, mouth, throat and more burn. Her nose is running and her eyes threaten to release full tears. The staff look at her with concern. Only a quarter left, she shoves the rest into her mouth as the last 10 seconds count down. She feels really sick and full.  _I’m so full I could throw up..._

“Ok put your chopsticks down!” Everyone lifts their head and collapses, over the table, slouched in their seat, on their girlfriend or on the ground like Jinsoul. Sana quickly runs over and drops off a glass of milk for everyone to sooth the spice and drops a bigger glass with this weird dairy thing for Yeojin, patting her head sympathetically.

—-

After 15 minutes of resting and “digesting” the food (she felt a weird bubbly feeling) the results of the challenge are back and added up. The girls go back to where they were standing before they started, in front of the tables. The grass is comfy against Yerim’s feet, feeling a bit better but still extremely full. She looks at the table and sees how the electrical counters were placed, hoping to get a peek at the scores, but they were cleared. She spots something new, a podium probably set up for the result reveal.

“Ok! The results are in!” Wendy skips toward a staff member with a clipboard, handing her the cue card with results on it. 

“Remember, the winners gets a private date and choose the next challenge theme. In 5th place, with a combined score of 20 cups, is Soojin and Shuhua!”

“Well done Jinjin!!!!!!” Shuhua squeals and tries to plant a kiss on Soojin’s cheek, but is stopped by a hand.

“In 4th place, Jennie and Lisa with 21 cups!” Everyone cheers and claps for them as share a kiss. 

“Third place, Nayeon and Jeongyeon with 22!” Nayeon tries to hide her shocked expression by also kissing Jeongyeon, who is happy for placing. They step onto the platform with a big 3 on the front.

“Second place is....Yerim and Yeojin with 23!” Yeojin’s jaw drops as she hears her name being called. Yerim grabs her hand and leads them to the second place podium. Trying to copy everyone else and attempting to look natural, she kissed Yeojin on the cheek, a weird feeling twisting in her chest, and a fluttery feeling in her stomach. She’s close enough to catch Yeojin’s perfume scent that has changed since high school. Her lips linger slightly longer than they should, the soft familiar action that makes heart beat faster.  _It’s probably just the ramen. No big deal._ Too focused on her thoughts, she misses the blushing face Yeojin tries to hide. 

“And in first, with a total of 26! Sooyoung and Jiwoo! Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!” The couple runs up to the first place platform and share a kiss as the confetti rains down. _Wow, Jiwoo and Sooyoung can really eat a lot..._ She finds new respect towards them. 

“You get a private date and get to pick the next challenge theme! Wooo!” Wendy looks into the camera and talks. 

“To our lovely viewers, the audience vote is opening right after this, so make sure to vote for your favourite couple! The winner of the audience vote will be safe from elimination, while the lowest votes and expert opinion will decide the eliminated couple, so vote!” Everyone cheers and claps, encouraging them to keep kissing. When one of the directors, calls “cut!” Everyone disperses and hangs around the backyard, watching the orange sun set into the blue ocean. When the sky turns dark blue, the filming crew packs up the cameras and leaves, leaving the girls to rest in their rooms. 

“I think today ruined ramen for me. Especially that fire noodle one. I can’t even look at it without feeling pain.” Yeojin speaks to break the silence between them as they walk down the hall. 

“Same.” Yerim keeps it short. Yeojin keeps talking, adding somewhat inclusive words like “right?” or “you know?” or “you know what I mean?” but Yerim continues to keep her answers short and simple, the bare minimum of responding. This sets Yeojin off the wrong way. Bothered by the consistent curt responds, anger and frustration boils in her, starting from her stomach. She fights the urge to grab the taller’s collar, lift her and shake her. She’s trying to start a conversation and stop the awkwardness but Yerim doesn’t want to? So, Yeojin tries something. She doesn’t talk. And Yerim doesn’t talk. She thinks,  what could Yerim be thinking about .  _The loss? Can’t be it. She’s tired? No, she already slept a lot. What could it be?_ She opens the door and lets them both in, an unstoppable ache feeling in her stomach and she salivates, feeling nauseous. She rushes to the bathroom, catching Yerim’s glance as she quickly shuffles, knowing what’s coming next.

_....is she thinking about someone else?_

Yeojin throws up into the luxurious toilet, all she gobbled up today now gone. Releasing everything, she takes a look at what’s inside, triggering her to throw up more. This day definitely ruined ramen for her. Probably was the weird dairy think reacting with the extremely spicy ramen. She takes a break from throwing up and realizes.

_Of course she’s thinking about someone else, as if she didn’t before, when we were together. Should have known better, Yeojin._ She thinks, and after she’s finished with the bathroom, she takes out her diary that got updates everyday and writes it into the book. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i just want ramen rn. and butterfly ramen haha get it? haha 
> 
> this chapter is much longer but I wanted to keep what happens in 1 episode together without splitting it apart. i also didn’t edit this lol . like I said before, im not sure how ill write this, but please bear with me!
> 
> leave a comment if you like!   
> bye

**Author's Note:**

> newspaper print...;)  
> not sure how good this was but anyways im not sure how often this will update but I’ll try my best  
> also this has no 18+ stuff in it because no maybe it’ll be mentioned or implied but no actual word for word scenes you know. i mean maybe intense-ish scenes but we’ll see  
> leave a comment or suggestion if you like lol


End file.
